In what could be considered something of a trap game, the Los Angeles Chargers defeated the Green Bay Packers 26-11. The Chargers were 3-5 coming into this game, while the Packers were 7-1. And yet, the Chargers were the ones who were dominating from the get-go. Aaron Rodgers was stifled in a way he hasn’t been in a few years. And while the Los Angeles Chargers defense had been inconsistent throughout the season, that was not the case here – they locked the Packers down until it was essentially garbage time. This was the kind of game that could help them turn their season around.
Los Angeles Chargers Defense Leads Way in Victory
The Bosa-And-Ingram Attack
Pro Bowler defensive ends Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram were in typical form on Sunday, pressuring Rodgers on multiple plays especially early on. Bosa and Ingram got 1.5 sacks each. Bosa in particular has been on a hot streak lately. He had two sacks in both of the last two games. And interestingly enough, both he and his brother Nick Bosa from the San Francisco 49ers earned Defensive Player of the Week honors for Week 8 in their respective conferences.
We saw the effects of the pressure from Ingram and Joey Bosa; similar to how it was particularly during the 2017 season (Bosa missed a lot of the 2018 season). While Rodgers didn’t turn the ball over, he was forced to throw a lot of shorter passes. Which brings us to another aspect in which the defense dominated…
Few Missed Tackles
Rodgers threw a lot of short passes, but most of them didn’t go anywhere. He finished 23-for-35, 161 yards and one touchdown. His top receiver Davante Adams had seven catches, but only 41 yards. The Los Angeles Chargers defense kept a lot of the plays from going anywhere with some strong tackling. Desmond King in particular was a standout in making some big tackles, finishing with five – tied with three other players. Denzel Perryman was one of those players, who also made a big impact before getting injured.
While this team hasn’t been notorious at missing tackles this year, there have been a few big plays given up. Possibly most notably was when Houston Texans tight end Jordan Akins caught a short pass, but somehow managed to make a big play out of it and scored a 53-yard touchdown.
One Breakout Player
One fairly unknown player that made an impact today was linebacker Drue Tranquill. He was drafted in the fourth round by the Chargers this year. He’d racked up a good amount of tackles in the past month, and he continued to show that good work today by making a few big stops. Tranquill was one of the four players that were tied for the team lead in tackles in the game (five).
However, his standout play of the day was when he blocked a punt from JK Scott, giving the Chargers prime field position. They ultimately scored on a Melvin Gordon touchdown from this, which put them 19-0. This was their first touchdown of the day too. The team’s lack of ability to score touchdowns was concerning early on, so getting that first one was important. As such, Tranquill’s punt block was one of the most important plays of the day.
Last Word
While the Chargers offense did struggle to score touchdowns at first, they still took advantage enough of what the defense was giving them. Hardly any drives outright stalled before they were in the red zone, and the ball was moved quite well. Kicker Michael Badgley did well in his first game back from injury by making four out of five kicks – the one miss coming when the game was already basically decided. Furthermore, Melvin Gordon had a bounce-back game that was desperately needed, scoring both touchdowns on the day. And another critical thing was how the Chargers dominated the time of possession, allowing the defense to remain rested and keep doing their job at full strength.
This was definitely the most complete team victory of the season. Sure, the victory over the Miami Dolphins had a wider margin. But that game was an easy one anyway. Anyway, they’ll have to keep this momentum going because they’ve got a short week. They play the Oakland Raiders (4-4) on Thursday Night Football. Both sides of the football will need to continue to play at this high level.
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